How to Take a Podcasting Break
Consistency Bros are So Annoying
I Need Your Help
I love working on and sharing “Podcasters Getting Paid” But, I’m just one person trying to get this project in front of A LOT of people. Could you please click on the link below and share “Podcasters Getting Paid” with whomever you think it will serve?
I appreciate it!
Michelle
Announcements
Have you wondered how to get media coverage? I’ve had a lot and I’m going to be launching a series at the end of the month about media coverage. It’s going to ROCK and for the cost of $5 monthly membership-well worth it.
Media Marketing Mastery Course for Paid Subscribers (part of the subscription-content will be behind the paywall) launches on June 26-June 30, 2023. Each day I will share tips on how to strategize your way to media coverage, what to consider and how it can grow your brand authority.
How to Get Brand Partnerships Workshop
I realized that having only one date available for my Brand Partnerships Workshop wasn’t ideal. So I’ve decided to host it one more time in-person. I won’t host this workshop again until September 2023.
The first “How to Get Brand Partnerships Workshop” went really well and I am so excited to encourage and support the hosts who attended. I’ve decided to host the workshop one more time on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST.
This will be capped at 25 attendees. I want to make sure that everyone can ask questions and participate.
Last day to register will be June 16, 2023 (I need to reach out to everyone prior to the workshop)
You will get a recording of the workshop.
While it’s strongly recommended that you attend in-person. But, it’s totally fine if you are unable to attend and need to watch at a different time.
Support these podcasts!
Here is the show art from the fabulous attendees of last week’s workshop. I listened to one episode of each of their shows and they’re incredible. I also want to say “Thank You” for the sharing of experiences and strategies during the workshop by attendees-your experiences were a welcome part of the workshop.
How to Take a Podcasting Break
It’s officially summer and many of you have a lot going on. Maybe your kids are finished with school and are around more, perhaps you’ve scheduled some trips or you have other personal obligations that are taking up your time. And maybe, just maybe you need a break from podcasting.
Last week I was in my last meeting with my mentees for the Spring 2023 The Podcast Academy mentorship program. They are phenomenal women creating incredible communities, content and brands. But, we ended up spending a lot of time talking about the discomfort that one of my mentees felt around taking a break from her podcast.
Here’s the thing, she’d been creating content for awhile and just needed to take a break. I wanted to share what it’s like to take multiple podcasting breaks and how my shows grow despite the time that I send away from my shows.
5 Months
In October I caught COVID. It was one week of hell that ended up becoming 8 months of recovery from Long COVID. I was dealing with a fatigue that impacted my legs and problems with chest pains. Leaving at a higher altitude-this really sucked and was scary.
At the same time I was finding myself really struggling with my podcast. A show that I’ve won awards for and have worked on since around 2017. I’d taken breaks before and this time I just knew that I needed a significant amount of time off. In February I announced to my audience that I needed to take a break from the show and it was the best decision that I could have made for myself.
How to Take a Break from Your Podcast
Podcasters often worry about taking breaks from their shows. In fact, you will often hear about “consistency” and while the consistency bros are right about showing up consistently…they are forgetting that showing up consistently can happen in a number of different ways.
Here are some examples of what that looks like for me personally.
Had a large back catalogue of episodes-I started my main show around 2017 so I have hundreds of episodes that I could share and repurpose.
Work on projects for other brands-I was the host of the Plutus Awards Podcast in 2022 (a show in the personal finance space) and they share that content ALL THE TIME on social media. Keeping me and my work relevant.
Designed uniquely branded content such as my Student Loan Forgiveness series. I worked on that season before the student loan forgiveness policy was created. It was a 13 episode season and I can share it for as long as America has a student loan crises.
Have an email list/newsletter or other places to re-share old content.
I didn’t assume that all of your listeners have listened to ALL of your episodes. I re-share content with this in mind.
Don’t forget that many listeners will listen to previous episodes more than once. I do this all the time with my favorite shows.
I backlink to other episodes in my show notes. In the future, I plan on sharing those episodes in pre-rolls or end rolls depending on what’s going on.
To be honest, while I’ve tried to publish on a regular schedule….I NEVER told my audience what that schedule was.
7 Action Steps to Take in Order to Take a Podcasting Break
Announce your upcoming break to your audience-I recorded an episode that is doing incredibly well right now where I announced that I was taking a break. This allowed me to share what I was feeling, thinking and a piece of content that I could direct people to when they had questions about my show.
Focus on content design for your show-I focus on creating evergreen content that remains relevant long after I release it. I’ll share an example below.
Are Billionaires Evil? Even If It’s Rihanna?
Billionaires are forever fascinating and so is Rihanna
Rihanna stays in the news and the idea that she’s a billionaire has inspired a lot of content, conflict and angst around the fact that we’re never getting another album.
Whenever something comes up about billionaires or Rihanna-I can share that episode.
Create and record unique podcast seasons-Right now I’m about to re-share episodes from my 13 week “Student Loan Forgiveness” season from the summer of 2022 as the student loan pause cruises towards its end. I will then record a new episode once I start recording again and then backlink to that unique season.
Repurpose previously recorded content and add new reflections to it. Have you ever listened to an episode that you recorded before and thought-why didn’t I mention something that would have complimented or added to the conversation?
Record short talking head episodes-I LOVE talking head episodes because I can grow my personal brand AND I don’t have to deal with scheduling with a cohost or guest. These short talking head episodes can bridge the gap during your podcasting break.
Batch Your Podcast Episodes-I batch as much content as possible. This allows me to work on content at my own pace without worrying that I have to record content each week. This is a good best practice whenever possible.
Strategically say “yes” to podcast interviews-Show up on other people’s platforms. Before I took my break I was the guest on several great podcasts. The thing is-you never know when the episodes will be released. In fact, one of the episodes that I recorded was released 6 months later-perfect! I had so many people share with me that they’d listened to the episode and they shared it.
I know that there are a lot of people struggle with how and when they should take a break from actively podcasting. I will say that taking breaks have helped with my creativity and content design. I’ve come up with a new podcast season and project that I might not have thought about if I hadn’t taken a break.
Your brain needs time to rest and recharge. Take the break, but be intentional and plan for it.
My episode downloads haven’t dropped.
I am still sharing previously recorded and relevant evergreen podcast episodes weekly.
I’m still working with brand partners and am in the process of starting a new partnership right now.
What I’ve learned from taking breaks from my podcast(s) is that consistency can show up in a number of different ways. What does consistency look like for you?
Upcoming Events
Denver Podcasting Meetups
I’m hosting a meetup at a local coffee shop sometime in June TBA
Podcast Movement-Meetup tour will be held in Denver on June 30, 2023. See you there!
Click here for a free ticket/reserve your spot
Portland 6/26/2023
Seattle 6/27/2023
Vancouver 6/28/2023
Presenting Sponsors
Swell AI
I’m so excited to be partnering with Swell AI. This tool is the way I like AI to be used:
Generate show notes
Create social media posts
Creates transcripts for PREVIOUSLY RECORDED content!
Podcasting can be so time consuming. Save your time and simplify your process with Swell AI.
Podcast Movement Denver
I’m so excited to partner with Podcast Movement this year. I love that it’s being hosted in my hometown of Denver.
Build your social and professional network
Share your expertise (even if you’re not a speaker)
Meet industry professionals
Learn from the community
And enjoy all of the parties! I love attending Podcast Movement and know that you will too.
